


Repercussions

by orphan_account



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Sorry?, akuma!Tikki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-07-10 06:50:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6970708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when yang loses yin?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Detonation

Plagg had lost far too many kittens. He wasn’t about to lose another. He’d had enough of the constant cycle of choosing and loving and losing, all too soon, all too early, all too young. Countless unlucky Black Cats, Chat Noirs, Gato Negros, Kuro Nekos, and Khar Muurs had been lost in these pointless fights.

These pointless fights that his current chosen, the most worthy yet, was currently caught in.

He could feel every movement of the boy inside the suit. After all, he was the suit. He sensed the missiles blazing past. He ducked, he wove, he leaped, he helped his kitten save his lady. He was the extending baton, knocking the akuma’s projectiles away. He was the shout of  _ Cataclysm! _ , taking his bad luck and channeling it through his chosen, wrecking the supports of the bridge and dumping the fiery fighter into the cold waters of the Seine, where it was quickly purified by his other half’s chosen. He was the only one aware of the akuma’s last fireball hurtling towards his boy’s back.

He had lost far too many kittens, and he wasn’t about to lose another.

* * *

 

“Chat Noir, look out!!” Ladybug cried, sprinting towards her partner. She could see a last gift from the akuma blasting towards his unprotected back. She knew she wouldn’t make it in time.

And she didn’t.

But someone else did.

Chat Noir vanished in a flash of green light, leaving an exhausted blond boy and a small black blob racing to intercept the fire. The boy collapsed, probably out cold. Still racing to where Chat Noir had stood, unprotected, she tripped- her clumsiness always kicked in at the worst times!- and could do nothing but watch from the ground as the black thing shot towards the blast. It all seemed to move in slow motion, the fireball flying forwards bit by bit and the black thing inching ahead at a snail’s pace.

She felt her own transformation unravelling, felt Tikki bolting towards the impending collision screaming her heart out.

She heard nothing but the kwami’s panicked cry, the world going quiet as if recognizing the significance of the threatening impact.

She tasted ash, the effects of the akuma’s rampage being blown about by a gentle breeze.

She saw the two objects finally meet, coming together in a brilliant explosion of light.

And then the world seemed to end.

* * *

 

“No! NO! **NO!** ” Tikki shrieked as she watched her other half smash into the fireball. She continued flying forwards, as fast as she could, but she was too late.

A blast shook the city, white light streaming out of the collision. The street was cast in sharp relief, shadows billowing out behind every object. Tikki rushed through the frozen black and white scene, intent on getting to Plagg.

His body floated down to the bricks of the street, gently as a leaf lifted by the breeze. She dropped next to him, hard as a stone, her eyes filling with tears.

“No, Plagg, no! You can’t do this! Y-you  _ can’t _ \- the balance-  _ please!  _ Please, Plagg, please!” she cried, hunched over his crumpled form. Her tears, falling freely, stained his burnt black fur, washing away tiny spots of the ash that covered him.

“PLAGG!” Another heartwrenching cry rang out. Footsteps pattered over the street, Plagg’s chosen coming to mourn the lost god. Tikki felt him drop to his knees, his own tears joining the river hers were creating. 

The boy reached out to the fallen kwami, perhaps to touch him one last time. 

He shouldn’t have done that.

“LEAVE US!” Tikki howled, rising to meet the boy’s eyes. A snarl twisted her kind features, all traces of the gentle mentor gone and replaced with a vast, raging grief. The boy fell back, eyes widening in panic.

She kept advancing as he scrambled away. Her eyes began to glow, adding a harsh light to the street filled with ashes once again. Slowly at first, so slowly, she began to grow, bigger and bigger, taller and taller, until she filled the street, towering over the tiny boy cowering in terror.

“Tikki, stop this!” her girl cried, sprinting in front of the boy and skidding to a halt. “This isn’t you!” Her chosen’s blue eyes gazed at her, filled with concern and pity and-

Fear?

Her own chosen was afraid of her.

Quickly shrinking, she too fell onto the hard stones of the street, quietly weeping. The boy cradled his god while her girl cradled her, murmuring reassurances. Tikki didn’t hear them, too caught up in her sudden loss.

No one noticed the small purple butterfly flitting towards her until it alighted upon her antenna, bringing with it a deep, soothing voice.

_ Lucky Devil _ _ , I am Papillon and I can restore your other half _ .

Tikki went still in her girl’s arms for a second. A malicious grin soon began to spread over her features. Plagg was gone- what else did she have?

“I accept.”

 


	2. Shock

“...shit,” Ladybug breathed, watching as her kwami- no, as Lucky Devil stomped off into the distance, leaving behind a trail of wreckage. “Chat, she’s got to be stopped.”

He didn’t reply, still hunched over Plagg. They had no way to transform, no way to fight Lucky Devil. How were they supposed to stop it?

He felt a gentle hand begin to comb through his hair, picking out bits of ashes. Raising his head, he saw Ladybug’s face.

Without the mask.

Marinette?

“Look,” she said, holding up a spotted box of matches. “I still have the Lucky Charm. We just need to purify Tikki’s akuma and then we can fix everything.” She was always so optimistic. He should’ve known Marinette was Ladybug. Even without the mask, she stepped up and took charge in emergencies. But this emergency was out of their capability.

He stood up, gently cradling Plagg. “I-his fur needs to be cleaned,” he muttered. He turned to walk away when he was stopped by a hand circling around his arm. He twisted his head to see Marinette staring at him, jaw set and eyes determined.

“Chat, we can fix this. I know we can, we’ve never failed before. But- I can’t do it on my own. I need your help,” she said. Her eyes glimmered with unshed tears. For a moment, Adrien hesitated. Maybe they could fix this. Maybe they could come back from this, save her kwami, save Plagg. But…

He shook her hand off, ignoring her cries as he strode away. Adrien gently placed Plagg into a pocket. His fur was now a dirty, dusty gray, tattered and burned and covered in a thick coat of ashes. Plagg wouldn’t have let himself get so dirty. He always kept his fur neat. Even though he seemed like a ragamuffin, he was really quite vain.

“Adrien, wait!” she called after him.

The walk back to the mansion was short, punctuated by the screams of civilians as Lucky Devil wreaked havoc. Adrien didn’t look up from the concrete passing under his feet. The akuma would quiet down eventually. It hadn’t asked for his Miraculous. Really, it was an odd akuma. Normally, they sought the Miraculouses as soon as they were transformed, but this one had just blundered about the street in a blind panic before lumbering off in a random direction. Not that he was complaining; it was terrifying. He’d been hunched over Plagg, but he had caught a glimpse and it wasn’t something he wanted to see again.

Lucky Devil really fit its name. It was enormous, easily towering over the buildings crammed together. Three forked tails came from its back, from under transparent, veined wings. They were capped at the shoulder with short, spotted wings, reminiscent of a ladybug. Not surprising, considering it was Ladybug’s kwami who was transformed. The akuma’s head was almost triangular, with antennae protruding towards its mouth, long enough to reach its chest. There were long, slightly curved antennae rising from the top of its head, almost like horns. A single black spot graced the akuma’s forehead. The body didn’t seem too different from the kwami, just elongated. Black swirls twisted over the limbs, meeting in another black spot in the center of the torso.

In short, it was petrifying and easily the most horrific akuma he had ever seen. Adrien shuddered at the memory, thumb reflexively reaching to rub his ring. Fiddling with his jewelry usually helped him calm down.

Wait.

Something was different.

He looked down at his Miraculous. A huge crack ran across it. He quickly wiggled it off of his finger, bringing it up to his eye. There was no doubt about it.

His Miraculous was broken.

* * *

 

“Tikki, what are we going to do?” Marinette muttered, staring after Adrien. It couldn’t have been more than half an hour since her kwami became an akuma, yet she already felt like a part of her was missing. The gentle encouragement, the occasional scolding, the comforting presence of her kwami was gone.

Would Tikki ever return?

Could Tikki ever return?

Was it possible that her kwami was lost to her own hatred and grief forever?

Marinette shook her head, clasping her hands together. They could fix it, she knew. As long as they kept the spotted box of matches, Tikki could be saved and Chat’s kwami could be brought back. It would be harder than the average akuma, that was true, but it was still possible. She just needed a little luck…

Squaring her shoulders, Marinette tucked the box of matches into her purse and strode off towards home.

She could fix this.

She would fix this.

She had to.


	3. Exothermic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOOK I FINALLY UPDATED  
> have some angst and reporter alya

Alya Cesaire, journalist extraordinaire, creator of the famous Ladyblog, and #1 Ladynoir shipper did not expect to be woken up at three in the morning by the crash of a piano outside. But hey, what can you expect in Paris? The place was always getting attacked.

She grabbed her phone before darting over to the window and beginning to stream.

“Hello, Ladybloggers! Alya here, reporting on the latest akuma attack,” she said excitedly. “It seems the akuma has just been spotted and- woah! Did you guys see that?”

She stuck the phone out of the window to better record the mayhem outside. Everything seemed to be patterned in black and red spots. Random things were falling from the sky, crushing cars, knocking over streetlamps, and coming entirely too close to many a pedestrian.

“It’s like Lucky Charm gone wrong,” she breathed. She’d never seen an akuma like this before. None of the others had managed to cause quite as much chaos.

She absolutely had to get an interview!

“Ladybloggers, I’ll be right back!” she promised before ending the stream. Dashing around her room, she pulled her thick hair into a sloppy braid and shoved her glasses onto her face. She yanked her usual flannel over the tank top and shorts she wore as pajamas before sprinting out of her apartment.

Once she was on the street, she pulled out her phone and began to record again.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir have not yet appeared on the scene. No clues have been given as to the akuma’s true identity yet. I don’t know about you guys, but this is the craziest one I’ve seen yet!” she exclaimed, following the path of destruction left by the akuma. “Hawkmoth must’ve chosen one hell of a victim for this!”

Alya came into an open area. She stood, frozen, for a brief second. “You guys…” she gulped. “I don’t know how well this is coming through, but this looks like a scene from hell.”

Everything seemed to be on fire. Deep shadows cast by the flames hid the Parisiens who had been hit by the akuma, but their screams could be heard none the less. The blaze spiraled up into the night sky, obscuring the brilliant stars with clouds of smoke.

“I believe this is the same akuma as earlier this evening, but I’ve had no way to confirm that this is still Fire Distinguisher,” Alya shouted into her phone, trying to drown out the panicked shouts around the street. “The Lucky Charms everywhere don’t support the theory, but- shit!”

Alya crouched, ducking her head. A ceiling fan slammed into the pavement, not three inches from her. Cautiously raising her head, she brought her phone around to focus on the fan.

“This stuff has been raining down everywhere. It is possible that the fires come from lucky hits, rather than the fireballs of Fire Distinguisher. My initial theory is not holding up,” Alya exclaimed. 

_ Thump. Thump. Thump. _

Recording forgotten, Alya looked up from the fan to see a red and black monster towering over her. A sudden blast of heat caused her to cower.

The next time she opened her eyes, she was held in the claws of the akuma.

“Excuse me!” she yelled, holding up her phone to get a better angle. “Could I interview you for the Ladyblog?”

The akuma peered at her. If Alya had to describe it, she would say... _ confused _ .

“Lady...bug?” it asked, its voice rough and raspy. It sounded as though it had been stuck in a dusty tomb for a century.

“Do you know Ladybug?” Alya yelled, trying to be heard over the screaming filling the streets.

“I...am Ladybug,” it grunted. Alya’s eyes widened. Had Papillon managed to corrupt Ladybug? No way. No, Ladybug was above that…

Wasn’t she?

“Where is Ladybug?” the akuma screeched, head flailing. That didn’t make sense. If it was looking for Ladybug, then it couldn’t be Ladybug.

“Excuse me!” Alya yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth. “Excuse me! Do you know Ladybug personally?”

“WHERE IS LADYBUG?” it roared, twisting around wildly, searching for Ladybug. Alya was whipped back and forth, still caught in its grasp. Ugh. This was not good. She got motionsick easily.

“Could you stop that, please?” she groaned. “I don’t know where Ladybug is.”

The akuma froze as someone sprinted directly in front of it. Was that…

Marinette?

“Hey! I said I don’t know where Ladybug is! Could you please put me down?” Alya screeched, trying to draw the akuma’s attention. Marinette had to stay safe. Alya had more experience surviving around akumas. Her friend stayed far away from battles.

Her plan worked. The akuma’s eyes were once again drawn to her.

“You...don’t know?” it asked softly, raising her to head height.

“No, I don’t! No one does!”

“Then…” it whispered, gazing past Alya at the street bathed in flickering red light.

“Then I have no use for you.”

Alya opened her mouth, about to ask another question for her stream, when the akuma raised her high, high above its head, high enough to see over the rooftops blazing against the night sky.

Then it let go.


	4. Propagate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Alya is alive and very confused

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao have some shitty angst  
> this is the first chapter to reach 1k, by the way

The first thought that ran through Alya’s mind when she blinked her eyes open was “Ow.”

The second thought was “Fuck.”

Really summed up her night so far.

Her entire body ached. A jolt of pain as she tried to sit up told her that her left arm was probably broken. Gingerly touching her oddly wet cheek, she winced as she felt a sliver of glass. Her glasses must’ve broken, slicing up her face and leading to her now-bloody cheek.

_ “Alya!” _

She raised her head at the faint call. Groaning, she rolled off the pile of polka-dotted pillows she’d landed on- lucky- and began to hobble towards the distant voice. 

Ouch. That felt like a twisted ankle.

She made her way through the dark alley, still untouched by the fires raging through the city. She reached an open square, one that had once held a bubbling, beautiful fountain in the center encircled by benches and flowerpots. Now, it held a towering akuma being yelled at by her tiny best friend.

What the fuck was happening?

“Where’s Alya?” Marinette yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth. The akuma didn’t respond, simply cocking its head. Her friend, already short, looked microscopic next to the akuma curiously gazing at her.

“Tikki, where is she?” Tikki? That must be the akuma’s name. Alya reached for her phone, only to feel an empty pocket. Damn. It must have fallen out when she was dropped. It was probably completely shattered. She had only survived the fall by a miracle and it was too much to expect that miracle to extend to her phone as well.

In the back of her mind, Alya wondered if her parents would get her a new one. Hers had been only a few months old, but surely “dropped by an akuma” was an acceptable excuse for a broken phone. It wasn’t her fault, at any rate.

“Mari...nette?” A soft rumble from the akuma drew her attention. It was crouching, trying to get to Marinette’s level. It looked almost gentle, like a giant dog who’d found its master.

A push at her shoulder interrupted the scene. Ow. Cradling her arm, she turned to see a blond boy striding forward, jaw set and eyes fixed on the akuma in an icy glare. She’d never seen him like this, so closed off.

“Adrien?” she wheezed, coughing as ash settled in her throat.

“Go home, Alya.”

Well, that was just rude. She took a few steps out of the cover of the alley, collapsing against an upturned bench. Adrien didn’t look back to see if she had followed his order.

The akuma was still crouched over Marinette, its snakelike antennae gently prodding around her. It was an image out of a fairy tale, the fearsome beast tamed by the beautiful princess.

It was shattered by the akuma’s enraged bellow.

“YOU KILLED HIM!”

Marinette flinched. She somehow tripped without moving- her clumsiness always kicked in at the worst time- and began to fall to the ash-covered street. Alya knew the second she hit the ground, the akuma would pounce. It would be gruesome, she was certain, but she couldn’t look away.

Marinette fell into Adrien’s arms.

How the fuck had he gotten all the way to the akuma without anyone noticing?

“No, I did.”  
And why the fuck would he shout out a confession to murder? How had the most innocent person she knew killed someone?

Nothing was making sense tonight.

The akuma drew itself up to its full height, stretching above the flaming rooftops. There were only moments before it would strike, before it would crush her friends. Alya tried to scream, to tell her friends to run, but the words stuck in her throat.

Adrien began to speak again, too soft for her to understand. The akuma bent down again. She caught a few words- akuma, fireball, detransformation, sacrifice, explosion? Nothing she could make sense of.

“Papillon killed Plagg?” the akuma said in a whisper that echoed off the houses lining the square. The teenagers in the center nodded together. The flames sputtering around them projected it in fuzzy shadows onto the wreckage of the fountain.

“Then I will kill Papillon.”

A glowing purple outline of a butterfly appeared over the akuma’s eyes. The akuma began to stomp around furiously, as if in a heated argument. Its head lashed back and forth like a horse fighting a bridle. It raised its arms, gently grasping the edges of the butterfly, and yanked. 

The butterfly broke in half.

Alya hadn’t known it was possible to break Papillon’s control. Judging by Marinette and Adrien’s gaping expressions, they hadn’t known either.

The akuma fled, sprinting off across the rooftops.

Alya began to stumble closer to her friends. Something was obviously going on that she wasn’t a part of. She wanted answers, and right now, those two were the ones who could provide them. 

As she got nearer, she picked up the thread of a conversation.

“You came,” Marinette breathed, looking up at Adrien.

“Are your earrings broken?” he asked, looking away. A brief flash of hurt passed over her face before she reached up to feel the surface of her earrings. She’d told Alya they were a family heirloom. Why was Adrien interested in them?

“No, they’re fine.” Adrien nodded, then held up a hand, showing her- was that his ring?

“It cracked when Plagg died,” he said in response to Marinette’s gasp.

Wait, since when was Marinette able to interact with Adrien without flailing?

“So there’s no Miraculous without the kwami,” Marinette muttered, examining the ring with deft fingers. Miraculous? The things Papillon was after? Why were they talking about them and what was a kwami?

Marinette jerked her eyes up to meet Adrien’s. “Wait- if I give up the earrings, do you think Tikki-”

“Wouldn’t work,” he said, shaking his head. “She’d still be corrupted when the next Ladybug came along.” The next Ladybug? How was this connected to Ladybug? Where was she, anyway?

“Alya!” Marinette suddenly cried, catching sight of her. She rushed forward, wrapping her in a hug.

“Easy,” Alya gasped. Broken arms did not appreciate hugs. Marinette jumped back, frantically apologetic.

Adrien walked up behind Marinette, placing a hand on her shoulder. There was a deep crack across the surface his silver ring.

“Alya, I told you to go home,” he said coldly. Marinette shrugged his hand off, shooting him a fiery glare.

“The akuma dropped me. I can’t exactly walk home like this,” Alya snapped.

“Tikki dropped you? Why were you in her hand?” Marinette exclaimed.

“I was trying to get an interview.”

“Are you insane?” Adrien interrupted. “Do you know how dangerous Lucky Devil is?”

“Ladybug can fix it.” Lucky Devil- that must be the akuma’s name. She’d have to remember it for the Ladyblog. Marinette and Adrien exchanged glances. “What? What am I missing?”

Marinette took a deep breath. “Alya… Ladybug’s not coming.”


End file.
